Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

ISAIAH is head over heels in love with his boyfriend and isn’t afraid to let the world know it. His unwavering love threatens his future as a professional basketball player. Though he is being forced to choose between the love of his life and his career, it appears that he could be making a decision which could irrevocably affect his future. Meanwhile, ADRIAN has unfinished fraternity business. As a Big Brother for the first time, he has an obligation to uphold the chapter’s sacred traditions, yet feels a responsibility to end the cycle of violence. Friendships will dissolve. Rivals will return. Secrets buried in LAZARUS and maintained in COVENANT will finally explode in EPIPHANY.

"Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress"
Is the world really falling apart? Is the ideal of progress obsolete? Cognitive scientist and public intellectual Steven Pinker urges us to step back from the gory headlines and prophecies of doom, and instead, follow the data: In seventy-five jaw-dropping graphs, Pinker shows that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise. Learn more

Top customer reviews

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

I have read Lazarus, Covenant and Epiphany, a captivating trilogy written by Rashid Darden. The storytelling is reminiscent of Hardy's B-Boy Blues series and E. Lynn Harris' novels. The descriptions of the characters and places are so vivid that you can actually see the characters, know the tones of their voices when they are speaking, see the buildings, living spaces and the campus. The reader becomes so engrossed in the stories that you want to keep reading to find out what happens next. It is as if we know these characters and become personally invested in their well-being. That is the effects of good storytelling.

Mr. Darden unapologetically challenges the conventions of hazing and hurting in Black fraternities. He doesn't condemn but presents all sides so that the reader can decide for him/herself. He adeptly addressed the issues regarding how brothers are "made" ("paper" v traditional), discrimination within the ranks (foreign born fraternity v American born; gay v straight; the chosen ones v men who did not court the fraternity formally), and the influences of "old heads" in undergraduate chapters. Well done my brother. Well done.

However, at the heart of the trilogy is Adrian, the main character-his coming out process and the relationships he builds (and loses) along the way. Again, Mr. Darden discusses these issues gracefully, tastefully and head-on so that few stones are left unturned. His characters are not perfect, but they grow and eventually exhibit great strength in the face of adversity. We see the ability of people to change and accept that which they never thought they would be open to. In the world Mr. Darden's created parents and extended family, fraternity brothers, friends, coaches, teammates, college administrators, classmates and locals just learn to accept people for who they are. I'd like to live in a world like that.

The books are ultimately about love of self and others and being true to who we are. If you want a good series that keeps your interest and addresses serious issues, I highly recommend these three books. I look forward to reading more from Rashid Darden.

Emotional turmoil. Thats what I went through reading this book. Cover to cover, it took me less than a day because I refused to put it down until the very end. As a member of a Greek Lettered Organization, reading this book brought smiles to my face in some sections, and tears to my eyes in others as I watched Adrian battle through his life in a story so incredibly real that I felt as if a friend was personally telling me his life battles. As the third book in a sequence, you would expect that you'd need to read the others before starting this one, however Rashid does such an impressive job of summarizing the plots and characters of Lazarus and Covenant that reading those prior to Epiphany is not required (though, in all honesty I sincerely recommend you do!).

Epiphany shows us sides of Isaiah and Adrian that you'd never expect. Without giving too many spoilers, I will say that the ending of this book will shock you. I'm sitting here now still wondering what Adrian is doing now, how things end up after the book, etc. A good writer draws you into his story, but a GREAT writer draws you so far into his world that you have a hard time understanding how a chapter in that characters life has come to an end. A GREAT writer forces you to look at lifes hardest issues from a different perspective than your own and truly see the pain and suffering that a person is going through. In my personal opinion, in the writing of Epiphany Rashid has proven to be amongst the great writers of his time. The emotions in this book are real. You will laugh, you will cry, you will scream at characters similarly to the way you scream at that silly girl that always looks back and falls minutes before being killed by the bad guy in a movie. But most importantly, you will LOVE this book! Its an absolute must read and I sincerely recommend it to everyone.

Wondering if you'll be able to relate because you're straight/not in a multicultural fraternity/not a male? Well, how about this, I am a straight female in a latina sorority that was still able to relate not just to Adrian's fraternal issues, but also his personal ones. Clearly, my issues and concerns will never be the same as Adrians, however reading his story blurrs the lines of race, gender, and sexual preferences when it comes to true understanding and empathy of a persons issues. It hit me somewhere around page 75 that these issues could transend all kinds of social and economical barriers. Sometimes, it felt as though I was reading my own life being lived by someone else although the circumstances were different. It hit home, and the story line is genuine. If you dont have an EPIPHANY of your own during the reading of this book, I honestly dont think you have a heart!

I wonder if this is truly the end of reading about Adrian Collins. I'll be honest, I hope its not. Because if it is, I miss him already!

So grateful I stumbled across this author. It's so refreshing and vital for black gay men to find quality fiction that realistically showcases us. We're more than the comedic blips that we're usually relegated as in stories written by those in of the mainstream gay community. We DO have aspirations. We DO have dreams. We DO love.

This was the last of the trilogy. I really enjoyed reading this for it's sincere, realistic but I get my happy ending. I love the growth of the relationships and dynamic of every character. You are definitely rooting for love but self preservation as well. Again, great read and I recommend this trilogy above all others in this genre.

Rashid, very well done. Another great read. I felt like strangling Isaiah a few times with regard to some of his decisions, but won't give anything away -- you've got to read it!

But Adrian and Isaiah's love affair, one of the best out there. Dangerous to fling caution to the wind, but in the end, love takes over... and theirs was real love. I write, and this book makes me motivated to keep on writing.